Lyon

I've just returned from a couple of weeks in Lyon.














The levels were low, but it was great to be in my boat and on a wave (which has not happened since March!). The wave has changed a lot since I was last there in 2006 (?or was it 07?), for the last Lyon River Festival and it took a good couple of days to really get the hang of catching it.


The main difficulty was positioning from upstream, as the pillars that used to stick out of the water at these levels have been knocked off (apparently by cars (!) and equally large heavy objects floating downstream!). So, it was a case of spotting the spray and aiming just a little bit left! There is just a boats-width sweet spot in which to catch the wave (on the pile just slightly river left of the main wave) and either side of that means floating off downstream ready to get out, clamber over the rocks (AGAIN!) and get back to the top (AGAIN!).

When we'd finally got the hang of catching the wave, although it was a little flushy at these levels, it was super bouncy and super fun!



Last year I decided that I would no longer paddle Dagger playboats as I could not get on with the Agent as well as I initially thought I would. Unfortunately this has meant I am still trying to decide which boat to paddle on a wave (in a hole it is definitely the Star), so....Star a










.....or Project?














I am heading back to Uganda on Tuesday for a few weeks, but my decision-making abilities (what little I had of them) have been all used up, so at the moment I don't have a clue which boat I'll take with me!

Thanks to Nicola Beeby and Cam for the photos.